Flower Scent On A February Evening

When I arrived at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) last night for my presentation on annuals, I was smitten with an overwhelmingly sweet scent in the visitors' center. It didn't take long to track down the culprit which was this potted, Japanese white wisteria (Wisteria floribunda 'Ivory Tower') which had been forced in to bloom (probably in anticipation of my presentation...). It must have been perfuming a good 3,000 sq. ft. of space and was just at peak. Dave Wanninger, who had given his Woody Plants presentation at RBG the night previous, was at Olbrich as well giving a presentation on Hydrangeas. We both had fairly small crowds but our talks were well-received. I do lots of presentations on annuals but am not sure that I've done this topic at Olbrich previously. Aside from a presentation tomorrow at RBG for the Master Gardener Fun Day, I have a hiatus for 10 days before another onslaught of presentations at the Chicago Flower Show and over in Michigan. My talk tomorrow is on the role of Master Gardeners at RBG which will be easy to do as they are so important here and I don't lack for slides or comments regarding their consistent value for and commitment to RBG. This event has attracted Master Gardeners from other counties in WI and IL to share ideas.

Today was light on volunteers which allowed me to really get thru some time-sensitive projects regarding seeds, presentations and spring orders. Dr. Gredler was in to paint some obelisks and Janice popped in briefly as well. I also saw Joy, Rod, Dave and Dorothy. Next week will actually involve me getting out in the gardens as I'll be talking with contractors about some reconstruction work for our Japanese waterfall system and I need to assess any winter/deer damage as well. The grounds staff will start back in five weeks so we'll be ready to hit the ground running in early April. We'll have our solid team of Larry, Marv, Marianne, Janice, Terry, John, Jenny and our "rookie" Pat. Little Jerry, though "retired", will hopefully be around as well. We have one more volunteer "soup event" on March 16th and again, we hope to get a great crowd that includes some potential volunteers that are curious about the possiblities here at the gardens. I'll talk about the gardens I saw in New York City (Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York Botanic Garden, Central Park and the High Line Park) which was by far my favorite trip of last year. Later in the month on March 30th (Wednesday night), we have Patty Bailey coming to talk about Herb Gardening (6 pm - 8 pm) as part of our monthly lecture series. This should be another well-attended event and we look forward to the continued momentum that this lecture series has provided. We've actually recruited many new RBG members at these events once they realize the value of supporting the gardens and all the neat little "perks" that membership provides. Do check out our website which Sue M. has been maintaining in a diligent and creative way with current information regarding a lot of neat things coming up (lectures, workshops, plant sales, tree sale, compost sale, bus tours, special events, etc...). If interested in details on any of these topics, visit www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org for details. The orchid shots are from Olbrich last night as well and the picture below was sent to me from Todd, Director of Horticulture at The Morton Arboretum. What an interesting desk for someone who really likes turf! We were debating how to maintain this lawn... :)